Study of Matter certainly. Matter that’s all around us, that surrounds us and that is us. That’s why this matter, matters! And as science has put it over the past millennium, it’s all about matter. And that nothing else matters!
The matter, the tangibles available is from where it all started. The stride towards the softer side of things, the intangibles, happened several centuries later (in the 19th century to be precise) and was only possible because the tangibles exhibited the ability to support softer applications and interact through these softer applications.
Is there any software, any application that’s completely independent of hardware? Could there be one? Is web based email up in the air? Are websites hosted on physical servers or are ghosted? Is Cloud Computing independent of physical infrastructure like datacenters and servers? Is wireless internet deviceless and truly wireless right from its origin? Are communication signals not created and transmitted by devices?
Fundamentally, is virtual possible without physical? Does virtual even mean anything if not for the physical? Certainly nothing. The virtual only enhances the capabilities of the physical, even if only in terms of experience. The physical is and will always be the real deal! Simply put, the physical is from where the thought process and those endless possibilities owing to the endless capabilities begins.
Let’s now consider the Artificial aka Fake or Mock Intelligence. One can be so massively indulged and invested in believing it can accomplish so much, now that we have the generative capabilities in place. It surely can, but isn’t the power coming from the physical computing resources on which these applications are housed?
And what about the origin of artificial intelligence? Isn’t it a creation of natural intelligence? So, what’s the idea? Would it be able to replace natural intelligence? Or help certain smart and creative minds become superhuman? And then would it start self-replicating? But would it become more creative than natural?
And in all its forms, would artificial intelligence become our choice over natural intelligence? Would we prefer to experience artificial rather than natural in all the ways that we like? It’s not just that I feel it’s unlikely but that I would love to see I fail. Because we will definitely call people who will prefer interacting with artificial rather than natural people, sociopaths!
Artificial Intelligence could be good for enhanced productivity, efficiency and reliability in repeatability, but beyond that it’s the stupidest idea one could come across. Because in the domain of creativity, natural intellect is the real deal, artificial is regressive, fake and utter nonsense.
So, why and how the Artificial has become so big a deal that it has obscured the Real? Why believe in artificial while relying on real for the enhanced capabilities of artificial? Why when our quest was the real truth, we settled for ‘crafting’ truths that never existed before? We settled for something far less against something far greater!
Maybe the reason we settled for artificial was that we failed to realize and understand the limitations of our natural intellect. So, we decided to carve an alternate reality of our own. But it was still us doing it, us, the natural beings. And as long as it’s us calling the shots, we’ll be in control.
And that’s exactly what a control environment means. The beliefs, values, codes, integrity, rules and standards of real people in charge of governance. If ethics is ingrained in the control environment, one can have comfort in the adequacy of design and conformance with controls. Can we think of handing over ethical conduct to artificial intelligence? No! Because, in the flesh is the real deal!
In the realm of IT controls, the starting point is IT General Controls (ITGCs). ITGCs carry the core physical access controls and access policies that are imperative for all other controls to function and make sense. One cannot place reliance on application controls when ITGCs are non-existent or compromised. Physical control is the real deal!
One of the most tech enabled, and intensive industry is the telecom industry. For the purposes of continued availability, free from disruptions and service degradations, the entities in telecom sector rely on regular physical monitoring and surveillance of their infrastructure and equipment, no matter how remote. For a communication service providing communication over the air, physical security is pivotal. Because physical security is the real deal!
Physical Security like access controls are still the mainstay of all manufacturing establishments and facilities like warehouses. Because unless physical access is controlled, controls required to function within the establishments and facility premises can’t secure anything. Physical access protocols are the real deal!
So, if the physics of it all is the real deal, lending ears to their auditors is what entities need to learn. Questions around control environments, physical access, physical security are always the core concerns for internal auditors. What people entities employ and deploy, what access control protocols they design and put to use, what physical security measures they take will remain fundamental.
Internal auditors can’t and won’t stop asking questions and obtaining assurance over these basic concerns. Call it our fixation or anything, but we do it because that’s how it’s done. We rely on tangibles for substantiating and obtaining assurance. We also start with a physical review of sorts like in a walkthrough to gain acquaintance with the current state.
Because everything begins from the physical; one can’t enter a facility until access is granted, and physical checking is ensured. The artificial intelligence based solution won’t actually be a solution if the code / algorithm in which it is written has been found not to be aligned with our manmade objectives.
And because it sits at the top, one can’t expect internal controls to mitigate risks and add value if the control environment is decayed. Because it’s the apex that governs.
One can hire all the consultants one can ask for, adopt all the best practices out there, and benchmark against all standards in issue, but a non-functional or more appropriately a fictional control environment won’t let those controls be adequate in design or align with objectives or function as intended!
The most concerning matter for all entities, that mean business, is the control environment. The people in charge of governing the controls!
Fakers, cheats and fraudsters hate it because the control environment does not just has the ability to expose them but also to apprehend them. But if this lot has already made its way to the executive table, there’s nothing much left to be done. The entity failed in realizing the physics of it all!
It is done with!